Have you ever seen those t-shirts or home decor items that say, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”?
Well, in my yard right now, it’s “the zinnias are calling and they must come.”

I promise you, over the last week, about a bazillion blossoms have sprung up (only a slight exaggeration!) and are beckoning the birds and butterflies to come and savor their flavor – and they are heeding the call!

We’ve had Hummingbirds visit…

…and Goldfinches…

…and several kinds of butterflies.

Even the slow to arrive Swallowtails have even been stopping by! The picture below is of a Spicebush Swallowtail…

…and this next one is a female Tiger Swallowtail. Usually they are bright yellow with black markings, but they do have a “black morph” variety like this lovely lady. They are the easiest to identify of the black-toned Swallowtails because their body doesn’t have any dots.

I love being able to sit at my desk and look out the window and enjoy not just the beauty of the flowers, but the beauty of all the others that are enjoying them! Ahh…life is good!